We’ve made it past another Christmas. I’m immensely grateful that I did not have to work on the 26th. Christmas day is never a particularly restful day for us. It was a fun day, but we’re always shopping right up to the wire, and this year has been no exception. Jean was sick the whole week before, and then we were blessed with the “Winter Wonderland” that made getting out to the stores pretty dicey. We spent the day with kids and grandkids. That’s usually a wild time. It was a joyous day, but it’s good to be on the other side of it.

I love Christmas, but I’m weary of the stress we put on ourselves to follow the tradition of buying, and “celebrating”. We go nuts making sure that we find that gift. In the malls you see a barely contained state of panic in the faces of parents and grandparents. They have a list, and this list drives them into a state of frenzy. As much as I enjoy Christmas, and what it’s supposed to stand for, I’m always ready for it to be over, and look forward to New Year’s Day.

Several years ago I wrote a script dealing with the absurdity of Christmas shopping It’s called Ballistic Battlestar Bob. It’s Christmas Eve. Steve and Janet have invited another couple over for some Christmas cheer. Steve, however hasn’t returned from last minute “Panic Shopping”.